Further to Ozandy's point, and as an addendum to my own earlier comment, I would suggest that the pedophilia regularly practiced by various members of the clergy currently (even daily) coming to light that Australians have more to worry about than a well-intentioned (albeit somewhat banal) comedy sketch. Pedophilia beats (alleged) racist jokes hands down as a cause for righteous indignation.
As for Mr Connick's unasked for views, I am old enough to remember the American entertainer Liberace's disgraceful use of Australian audiences as a contrived foil to 'prove' his anti-communist stance back in the McCarthy era. Mr Connick has gained much from this (alleged) 'anti-racist' outburst in the USA where it is now mandatory for entertainers to demonstrate anti-racism sentiments. As did Liberace before him, he has made his point at the expense of Australian followers without alienating any of his American fans.
Mr Sellick would serve the entertainment world better if he concentrated on his vocal technique, respected his audiences, and ceased butchering Sinatra standards.

oh..and country "that doesn't happen in australia" girl...read this and then have a really good look at yourself..

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26196697-5006784,00.html

"TV shows that seem to be free to show us all up as racist and idiotic."

Come on, lighten up. You must be living in another world if you haven't realised by now that the above quote is what Aussie humour is all about. If we are not racist, then we are the only country in the world who isn't.

David

As an American living in Australia, I understood immediately why Harry Connig Jr had the reaction he did to the blackface routine, but I don't expect Australians to understand, since they were not raised to innately comprehend the underlying meaning of blackface. For that reason, I don't think that the intention here was to be prejudiced. It was merely done in good fun as Australian's see it, and well they should. American TV and movies may have an effect on Australian culture, but overall, the two cultures are still vastly different.

Connig's reaction, given his heritage, was perfectly natural for him. His career could have been on the line with many Americans (where his bread is really buttered, after all) should he have done any differently. His father was a civil rights lawyer in Louisiana, and risked much fighting for the rights of the blacks in that state. He had no choice but to speak up, and he did so with dignity

This article was more of a history lesson than anything else. I found it interesting but ultimately irrelevant because it didn’t really engage in the more important questions surrounding the issue.

My initial reaction to this article is that Australians shouldn’t pay as much attention to the thoughts of our easily-offended neighbours over in the US. After all, this act was aired on an episode of an Australian TV show, for the entertainment of an Australian audience with Australian sensitivities and an Australian sense of humour. So why should we care if some Americans consider it offensive, mostly because they are viewing through the lens of a completely different national history to ours? I don’t believe the author sufficiently answered this question at all.

Like the author, I can understand why Harry Connick Junior was offended but unlike the author I can’t see why that should stop Hey Hey from airing such a skit. In an Australian context, in our unique Australian culture, there was absolutely nothing offensive, or racist about the skit. I think the fact that one of the performers was dark skinned himself (having an Indian background) makes this point even clearer

Not only was there nothing offensive about it within the Australian context, but there is absolutely nothing inherently racist about the skit at all. It was only a group of middle aged men dressing up and imitating a music group and a legendary performer. Unless you are going to argue that imitation somehow automatically equals racism, then you’re on a road to nowhere with that argument. Again, the following point must be emphasized: The only reason Americans are offended is because their history colours (pardon the pun) their view of the event. So really the question at hand is: How much should we pander to the feelings of Americans, when filming an Australian television show for the entertainment of an Australian audience? My feeling is: Very little. Surely we need to be tolerant and understanding of each others cultures, rather than try to stamp each other’s cultures out and gag each other’s humour! In fact, this current outrage could even be an opportunity for the promotion of cross cultural understanding: Perhaps some people over in the US can learn that Aussies are, generally, a laid back type who don’t mind taking the piss out of themselves, and others.